Tomorrow Knight
by FanficWolfess17
Summary: In the late 2030's when time travel has finally been harnessed, Crystal, or 'Chris' for short, has left home after finding old government files in her step-dad's office, concerning the original Foundation for Law and Government from 1982 to 2001. On top of the secrets she's already keeping, she's made a plan to use what she knows to right a wrong she takes all too personally.
1. The Heist - Part 1

_**This is my first Knight Rider fanfic and it's going to be a lot different than usual due to the time frame and plot, so please be kind. Also, this is based on the**_ **original** _ **KITT and KARR from the 1982 series. Give it a look up, it's super cool (a lot cooler than the 2008 series in my opinion) and lasts 4 seasons.**_

 _ **Hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

Crickets chirped in the distance, and the sky was dark with cloud cover as a figure wearing a baggy black hoodie, military grade backpack, jeans, and steel-toed tennis shoes crept through the private property. The hood was pulled far over her face, effectively covering her sparking eyes and shading the rest of her features in a deep shadow. Her muscles were rigid and her vision sharp as she trained all her energy into being completely aware of her surroundings.

The mid autumn air was fairly cool this early in the morning. No one was moving about save for a few guards who were easily avoided along with the security cameras. As impossible as it seemed, she knew where just about everything was and _would be_ at F.L.A.G headquarters. She couldn't afford not to. Otherwise this quest would be, in every sense of the word, a failure.

Knowing where the guards and cameras were in the mansion was unnecessary, as she had no intention of going inside. The pass keys she snatched this morning were all she needed. Before now, for a week, she had been posing as security while staying at a hotel ten miles from here. Using a rental car, she came by every day to gather, arrange, and plan information accordingly while keeping an unpleasant emotion pressed as far down into her heart as possible. It wasn't one she could use to focus on her goal, but it certainly helped her gumption.

Being sure to stay out of the light of outdoor lamps and out of view, the figure stealthily made her way to the garage. Compared to the rest of the headquarters, this was the most secure area. It was farther away from the mansion and currently fenced off. The door to the building was most likely locked too. Not a surprise considering what they were hiding. However, there was no one guarding this side at the moment. There were only a few cameras, of which she studied all the blind spots before attempting the break in.

Despite new management practically taking over F.L.A.G and calling the shots, the security still wasn't anywhere near as tight as back home. This was only 1995 after all. None of the technology she knew existed yet, and what did exist wasn't _a hundredth_ as proficient. Child's play actually. And good thing too. After spending months learning how to dodge security in her own time, doing the same here was a piece of cake.

Strapping down her dark backpack, she launched herself onto a stretch of chain link fence in the dark. It rattled, but only slightly as she climbed up and over. Then she dropped back to the paved ground on solid feet, grunting with the effort to remain steady. After straightening herself and giving a quick glance around, stretching her hearing to make sure no one was coming, she walked over to the door and used both pass keys. A swipe of a card, a code punched into a number pad, and she slipped inside unnoticed.

* * *

 _Geez, it's dark in here,_ she thought grumpily as she pulled a small flashlight the width of a pen out of her pocket and switched it on. It wasn't the darkness itself, but rather the lack of sleep and urgency to get out as soon as possible. Every minute that passed was another minute closer to working hours when the "demolition crew" would come waltzing back in here to continue with their task that she wished hadn't started at all.

The garage was a wide space roughly the size of a public school's gymnasium. Full of tools, machines, and blueprints scattered about between stainless steel work benches, two or three chairs, and the concrete floor. Some of the machines stood taller than her, and the outer edge of the area was so tightly packed it was difficult to navigate around without bumping into something. Some of the tech was only slightly below par, or average, according to what she knew in her own time. Though it wasn't worth sneezing at. None of this _junk_ was. Nothing she saw even came close to what she was looking for. That is, until she managed through the maze to the main area, which was vacant of unnecessary clutter.

The flashlight shined on the hood of an old vehicle, clearly nothing but a shell of its former self as it sat paused in the middle of being stripped down and out of everything it used to be. The black exterior didn't hold the same life it used to, and there were actually several scrapes and dents from workers prying the hide apart. So many terminal scars on what used to be a thing of beauty, life, power, and refinement. No matter how many times she imagined it before, it still didn't prepare her for this awful sight.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling with a heavy sigh, she approached the car and ran her hand over the smooth prow. She could see the scanner strip was already removed, which likely meant at least half of the engine was gone too. And as she took a glance inside the open window, the dashboard was reduced to nothing but cut wires and empty plugs. Even on wheels there was no way this vehicle would ever move again. Long before it's been turned to scrap metal, it was already gone. Like the soul had been ripped out of it.

Which….wasn't all that inaccurate.

Her brows furrowed as she took another weighted breath, aching painfully at how the car was being treated like nothing more than a random, expendable piece of hardware. Nothing, no one, deserved a fate like this. It was akin to mutilating a body after dying. Insult to injury, as well as disrespectful.

"Poor guy…" she breathed sadly, resting her hand on the roof of the cabin. There wasn't a need for gloves to keep her fingerprints from appearing on anything. It didn't matter when she technically didn't exist yet. She was practically invisible. "You certainly didn't deserve all this, did you?" _And from the very people you cared about and worked so hard to protect,_ she added silently to herself.

Looking at the car a moment longer, she stepped away, slung her backpack off her shoulders, then began rummaging through the boxes nearby while holding the end of the flashlight. Anything and everything she recognized as necessary pieces, she placed in the backpack. Circuit boards from the dash, the buttons to go with them if they weren't missing, etc. It didn't take long for her to also find the scanner strip and the voice modulator.

The more she looked through, the angrier she got. _I can't believe they…that_ jackass, _did this._ She was referring to Russell Maddock, Devon Miles' recently acquired partner. How he ever convinced the head of Knight Industries this was even remotely acceptable was beyond her. At this point the lot of them pissed her off, and not just because no one could seem to handle these parts with the care they deserved.

But…she couldn't focus on that. As she looked through what she gathered so far, she knew there were still a few things missing. The most important parts. Where were they?

Picking her head up, she shined the flashlight around the room. On the far side, there were a few boxes sitting on a metal table with computers set up along the back. Chords were plugged in and coming out of them, but they weren't attached to anything at the moment. Though, perhaps they had been to something packed in the boxes?

She hustled over to the table with the backpack in hand and set it carefully on the floor while she opened the boxes and looked through them one at a time, adding all the necessities to the collection of others.

A sigh escaped her, mixed with annoyance and relief. _Sure enough…_ In the boxes were the disassembled pieces of the processing unit, the memory chip and its compartment, everything that made the car behind her _who_ it used to be. Including the AI unit, which gave off a dull red glow like the pulse of a fading heartbeat. How terrible it must be, to go from such an advanced and gorgeous vehicle that was someone's friend, to a pile of circuitry discarded at the bottom of a cardboard box to be taken apart and lost to the wind.

Turning the AI unit over in her hands, the anger and sadness she was feeling still bubbled beneath the surface. However, she also felt a great deal of relief now, making her touch gentle and her eyes soften as she brushed her thumb over the light. This is what…no… _who_ she had come for. Her personal rescue mission.

The small unit was still warm, and she could detect a faint hum from the circuits in spite of having been disconnected from the main processor God knows how long ago. It was the first good sign she had seen all day, and a tiny smile graced her expression. "Don't worry…" she said quietly. "I won't let them do this to you anymore." She zipped the top of the backpack shut with one hand and opened another pocket in the front.

Inside was another AI unit, which she collected from its own vehicle's wreckage little more than a week ago. Unfortunately, aside from it there wasn't much she could salvage. But there was just enough to work with and rebuild from.

Yellow and green lights on the first unit flickered and blinked as she tucked the second into the pocket and zipped it closed. From a side pocket, she briefly retrieved her cell phone to check the clock. Almost 4:30 am. If she was going to get back to the rental car and go without being seen, she had to leave now.

Putting the phone away and brushing her hand over the front pocket, she thought, _We're all getting out of here. To a better time and place than this. I just hope you'll forgive me._


	2. The Heist - Part 2

_**I've worked on this chapter till almost 5 am- I have no idea what sleep is apparently.**_

* * *

The sun was coming up ever so slowly as she drove down the road, painting the early sky orange and red behind the black mountains. Playing over the radio on mid volume was "Old Enough to Know Better" by Wade Hayes. The song was upbeat enough to keep her awake, and it rather fit her current mood. She _did_ know better, she just didn't care at this point.

With her arm propped up on the door with her fist supporting her head, her eyes were half open as she drove with one hand on the steering wheel. Her backpack was strapped into the front seat with her hoodie draped over it to hide its bulk from view, not that she was concerned with anyone around here caring to go snooping through it.

She wore a white t-shirt, and wire frame glasses under her red ball cap. Its tilted angle kept the sunlight from hitting her eyes as she drove through town. Now that she checked out of the hotel and was on her way to return the rental car here in Big Bear, over an hour from Los Angeles, the only thing on her mind before returning home was food. She hadn't eaten since the previous morning so she needed at least _something_ in her system. With the decent head start, she figured she could afford a short stop at a gas station or something. It didn't matter where as long as people minded their own business.

Her cover was only as good as it needed to be. A modified driver's license and cash marked for the correct time period. Luckily the people she rented the car from didn't complain about her only having cash and paid in advance. However, she had to be careful about what she said. She couldn't mention anything that didn't exist or happen yet, not including herself of course. Or _show_ anything that didn't exist yet for that matter. If it weren't for that she'd be listening to her own music list on her mp3 player. That was just one of the rules, other than blending in and leaving no viable trace of yourself before going back to your own time.

Casting a glance at the backpack and the two AI units inside along with all the parts she took from the Foundation, her brows furrowed in thought. One of the rules also stated to not change the past in any way that would affect the present day. She could only imagine the kind of panic going on back in the headquarters' garage if they cared to notice what was missing among the boxes of scrap and cybernetic tech. The latter was purposely left behind, and was something she couldn't touch, since she remembered seeing in her time that it had been sold to the medical industries. That wasn't something she could risk the future on, unlike the AI's. Sure though, finding them missing would raise quite the fuss and everyone would be looking for the culprit. Even so…

She shook her head. _Taking them won't change much of anything,_ she thought as she turned the car into the parking lot of a local 7-11 and pulled into a corner space. _The Foundation can move on just as well._ Regular _law enforcement always does. They just need to put more backbone into it._

Once inside the gas station she made it a point to avoid bumping into anyone, keeping the backpack strapped tightly around her shoulders to minimize clattering as she looked for a good candy bar or packaged muffin of any kind. She grabbed a water bottle out of the refrigerated shelf while she was at it.

It wasn't necessary to avoid the cameras in the building this time. If the cameras back at F.L.A.G headquarters did managed to catch her on video they would have only seen her black hoodie, and her backpack was rather common among civilians these days. All she had to do was hide her hoodie under the back seat of the car and pretend everything was normal. Thankfully she didn't have to pretend she was fully rested and wide awake to boot. This time of morning, people would be suspicious if she _was._

Still, this little five minute break did wonders for her exhaustion and alertness, and she was back on the road in no time to the rental dealership. After that was a short hike into the woods south side of Mill Creek Road and she could go home.

A thought crossed her mind. Reaching in her jeans pocket, she pulled out her phone. It was a standard black LG Lite with faded buttons and a scratched up screen. She's had it for over 8 years now without replacements and, though it periodically glitched in one way or another and didn't have the best performance, it still functioned fairly well for the most part. Right now the screen read one bar of battery life and, obviously, no service. The background was a plush doll of an anime character; one she didn't own, but thought was cute.

Navigating to the messaging center, she went to the voice mail box and dialed in her password, being sure to keep her eyes on the road in the process. Only one voice mail was saved, and as it played she turned on speaker mode and tucked the phone under her knee on the edge of the seat. A boy's voice came over the speaker.

 _'Hey, aunt Crystal. Hope you're doing alright. I just thought I'd call and ask how things were going out there. I know you were in a pretty big hurry to leave an' all. How's college and work? Haha, I mean, it couldn't be too hard. If it is though, you can make it. Just stay calm and focus, and do what you gotta do._

 _Um…listen, I know you're pretty busy and wanted to get away from the chaos here but…I was just wondering… I was thinking of taking a trip out there to visit? Just for a couple days. O-or weeks. Or something…. I miss you a lot since you haven't been around. Not a lot of family I can hang out with and talk to like we did, you know?_

 _Also, since I'm moving out soon anyway I was wanting to see if there was anyplace near you that'd be decent to live. So I was wondering if it'd be alright if I stayed with you for a bit while I did that. I mean, if not, that's fine- it was just a thought. Mom just said I should ask you first, which_ obviously _I would. I'm not a party-crasher like uncle Dylan. But yeah._

 _Anyway, please give me a call back when you have the chance to sit down and chat for a while. Love you, aunt Chrissy. Talk to you later. Bye.'_

Before the subtle 'click' that marked the end of the message, the voice mail lasted for a good four minutes.

Gabe had called her and left the message two weeks ago. She hated to make him wait for a response so long, but she had to use the time off from her usual routine to do _this_ because it was an opportunity she'd likely never have again. And it wasn't something she could just let slide off the table.

Of course, that didn't mean her nephew was any less important. He was seven years younger than her -turned 18 in February-, and the closest she's ever had to a little brother and best friend back in her home town. Her other friends always lived farther away than she could travel. But when she moved to another state to get away from her parents, so was he.

Crystal was actually thrilled by the request. She missed him just as much, and would be more than happy to help him out. The second she got back, and slept for a few hours, she'd call back and tell him.

* * *

After returning the car and retrieving the backpack and hoodie –tying the sleeves around her waist-, Crystal started south, spending the next couple hours walking past houses, street after street. Periodically she passed a jogger, a driver, or someone taking their dog out for a walk, but nothing out of the ordinary and no one so much as cast a second glance at her. She kept her ball cap on and made sure to look inconspicuous as she walked down the side of the road. To any local, she looked just like someone going for a walk around the mountain.

This stretch of Mill Creek Road ran north to south before turning west in the next few blocks or so. She knew because, in her time during her grade school years, she spent several summer vacations in Big Bear. No, she didn't know the place like the back of her hand, but she remembered enough to know her way around. Her only surprise came from how much quieter it is in 1995. Fewer houses, fewer people, and nowhere near as many cars. Overall it was much more peaceful. It was a wonder how things changed over the decades to how it was in the present.

Crystal mentally paused all the sudden, her thoughts being interrupted by a sound catching her ears. Not so much the sound of an engine that arose her suspicion, but the slow turning of tires on the pale gray asphalt. Before she turned her head slightly to glance over her shoulder, she knew she was being followed.

Her heart skipped uneasily at the sight of the car pulling over the top of the road and slowly coming her direction downhill. The branch of a low-hanging tree covered her head from view just enough she dared to get a better look as she picked up her pace without the driver noticing. It was a brown Honda Civic Sedan, and from this angle the windows obscured the figure inside. Whoever they were, were most likely from the Foundation and looking around for any shady characters. Chances were pretty good this person only _thought_ she looked suspicious and was killing time. Besides, what _evil mastermind_ in this era could possibly work with stolen classified technology; out here with too many witnesses and so little space?

Probably a very, very good one, but nonetheless. The driver thought they could sneak up on her. At the thought Crystal scoffed, a devious smirk pulling at her lips. _Wishful thinking, buddy._ She wasn't about to let the AI's be taken back, or even get caught in someone else's filthy hands.

Taking her next opportunity, she dove between the trees alongside the road, kitty-corner to someone's log house. There was a ditch on the other side, but she jumped across and took off running. As the distance grew between her and the road, she heard the Sedan's engine rev violently as it sped up to where she had been on the side of the road.

The property she ran through was scarce of trees, so she stayed to the shadows as much as possible. The morning air stung her throat and lungs as she ran but she refused to slow down until she reached the woods. As she wove through the clearings, Crystal had to watch her footing carefully. She couldn't risk tripping, stepping, or running into anything that would cause more noise and give herself away or slow herself down. She also decided to just take off her glasses and stuff them in a zipper pocket on the side of the backpack. That way there was less chance of them falling off and being broken. After all, she wasn't entirely blind without them.

She skidded to a halt when she came upon a ridge of boulders, leading to the next ledge. There wasn't a way she could go around in time to evade the person tailing her. From the faint slam of a car door, she knew they weren't far behind. So she wasted no time in scaling the rocks. One foothold after the other she clamored up the ridge. Before reaching the top her hands scraped on the rough surfaces of the boulders several times, but she was sure to move quickly and keep from leaving any specks of blood on the ground. And once she scrambled to solid ground on the other side, she only took a short moment to catch her breath before regaining her footing and darting away again into the pine trees and brush.

A ways behind her she could still hear the faint noise of her little tag-along rushing about. However, in another minute or so, it wouldn't matter. As she continued at a quick-paced walk, she unclipped a small remote from the brim of her ball cap that was the shape of a raindrop and no bigger than a large Papermate eraser. On the front was a small white screen showing a map, a green locating beacon in the shape of a square, a digital compass, two dials on the side to set the year and location, a pair of color-coded buttons –blue for 'activate' and red for 'deactivate,' and a flashing set of numbers indicating how far she was from the beacon's signal.

Less than half a mile, and currently the main device was inactive and well-hidden in case of scavenging animals looking for shinies or curious humans sticking their noses where they didn't belong. _The former would definitely be more preferable though,_ Crystal thought absentmindedly.

"HEY, YOU THERE! STOP!" The masculine voice cut straight through the air like an axe without an echo, the trees muffling the sound to all but the two within earshot.

Her nerves gave a jolt of panic, having been spotted without a doubt, and she immediately took off in the direction of the beacon signal with a vice-grip on the remote. _Crap! How the hell did he catch up that fast?!_ She didn't dare turn around to see the person's face. She had to lose him, and _now._ There was no telling what kind of trouble it would cause if he saw the device- whether she could get it activated and leave before he caught up to her or not. If she was going to get away without causing any major damage to the timeline, she had to be a phantom and disappear when the tracker behind her wasn't watching. Thankfully, in her running she finally came just within the remote's activation range of 20 meters; 65 feet from the device.

She pressed the blue, triangular button before dropping over a ledge into a dense group of trees and getting a few scratches in the process. At the very least the geography should slow him down a bit. But her heart still pounded violently. Partly due to the additional physical effort, partly the idea of being caught, but mostly due to the fact that if she stumbled the AI's in her bag and the parts to go with them were in danger of being damaged in some way, and it's already been a bumpy ride as it is.

Putting all her effort into her goal, she made a slight detour to the right instead of going directly to the beacon just yet. That nuisance wasn't following _too_ closely, but her best bet was still leading him away to a nearby trail before doubling back and leaving him in confusion long enough for her to escape. And he swiftly fell for the ploy.

Just before she reached the edge of the dirt road ahead, she ducked under the low canopy of thick pine branches and crawled around the face of the boulder it stood in front of. The bed of needles underneath saved her hands from any more scraping on the jagged gravel ground, and the opposite side of the canopy opened up to let her pass through without disturbing more foliage. Quietly sneaking along the smaller ridge of rock and dirt, she got about halfway before shrinking out of sight when the man came barreling through the trees, his own obnoxious noise hiding the faint rattling inside the backpack as she left him behind as quickly as stealth would allow. _Have fun chasing thin air, moron,_ she thought in more of an aggravated sneer than victorious sarcasm.

Upon reaching a rocky outcrop, Crystal saw the pale blue glow of distorted space. If it had a definitive shape she would think it looked like a reverse pyramid with a ghostly appearance. The center of the cloud-like portal seemed more dense and darker than the transparent outer rim. And it just reached the ground toward a short, baseball-sized tripod connected to a black globe where the foggy substance materialized from pores in the side. The only way she could describe it was like a condensed storm cloud, stepping through water so thick it was nearly impossible to breathe. Fortunately, it only lasted little more than a second.

That was her ticket home.

Getting the feeling the person chasing her might retrace his steps soon and come looking, she rushed to double-check she had everything she brought and all she intended to take. Nothing missing, nothing broken, and the AI units still easily blinked and glowed. _No thanks to whoever that was_ , she thought

Putting her glasses back on and setting the dial for the present day -having left the tripod's counterpart in the location she intended to return to- she stepped through the swirling blue cloud. From the other side she only reached back through to grab the exiting device in the brief moment available before the cloud dissipated from the device being deactivated. Then in the blink of an eye, she and the two AI's vanished from 1995.


	3. New Time, New Place

Quiet whirring filled the cabin as the dashboard slowly lit up along with sequential beeping of the systems communicating with each other. There was some hesitation but it sorted out after a moment. Everything connected and fully programmed came on, and statistics began reading on their available operating power. At first there didn't seem to be much to work with, but it began to build until it was possible to run a diagnostic on functioning hardware and software.

Why did so much seem to be faulty? Actually, everything felt...odd. From the processing unit to the outer shell, everything felt so out of order and surreal. Nothing was in the same place or even the same shape.

To be sure the diagnostics ran again. This time the reading _was_ more accurate, but….most of the functions that were originally flagged as a malfunction didn't appear at all. According to the currently accessible memory bank they used to be there. But, now, they were missing entirely. Just… _gone_. Immensely unsettling as it was equally confusing, it felt as if every circuit was too heavy to move yet spinning wildly, causing all else to blur in panic.

Suddenly, a subtle tapping on the dashboard interrupted the sensory overload, bringing it down to a dull roar. Finally having something tangible to focus on other than all the distorted forms, a wavering scan swept through the cabin. Someone was sitting in the pilot seat with the driver's side door open, letting cool air smelling of concrete flow inside. Desperately wanting to focus on something, _anything_ , other than this unfamiliar body, the system analyzed and compiled a list of the human's characteristics. It processed rather slowly, however.

Female... 25 years old… Mid-length, auburn hair… Caucasian… 170.6 centimeters… 89.9 kilograms…. Blood type: AB-positive…. Light green eyes…. Minor astigmatism- near sighted.… She appeared to be suffering from multiple sources of physical distress including lack of sleep, food, and water, there were also minor lacerations and abrasions on her hands and arms as well as a deep bruise on her right ankle. And that was just the surface. However, she seemed far more interested in the voice modulator, which was loosely mounted in the middle of the dashboard, above an oval-like arrangement of knobs, buttons, and switches.

The voice modulator was one of the items flagged as malfunctioning in both scans, and she seemed to know that. Her brows furrowed tiredly as she took a small screwdriver from the bag of tools on the center console, held it between her teeth, then used both bandage-wrapped hands to lift the face of the modulator away from the dash to reveal several wires connected to the inside. Brushing her ponytail back, hooking her side-swept bangs behind her left ear and adjusting her glasses, she shifted closer to inspect the wiring. As she peered through narrow eyes, she discovered two of them had mistakenly fallen out of place.

Seeing this, she took a breath through her nose and huffed to herself. As she adjusted the wires and held them in place with one hand while she retrieved the screwdriver with the other, memories of the last two technicians who had worked on the main system managed to surface from the electrical haze. Of course, this obviously wasn't Bonnie _or_ April, but she appeared to be just as careful and sure-minded in her task.

Once the wires were tightened down, she popped the voice modulator back into place more firmly this time and tapped on it with her finger again. Her tinkering did feel as if it worked. When the diagnostic ran on the dashboard functions again, it read differently. Now functionality didn't feel _too_ drastically incomplete, and the uneasiness lessened. Though, it didn't change the low power supply, which was taking far longer to reach optimal level than it… _probably_ should. Still, it might be worth a try.

 _"H…hello?"_

The girl stiffened, her eyes widening some when the voice came through the speaker. She was certainly more awake and alert now. " _There_ you are…" she exclaimed softly after a moment, straightening in the seat with a bit of relieved grin. "I was beginning to wonder if you were that badly damaged after all."

His voice was still slow, garbled, and glitchy as he spoke again, the lack of power leaving the pitch and frequency little to be desired. _"Who…are you? I do not…I do not recognize you…"_ Overall he sounded as exhausted as he felt. As strange as that might sound for an AI.

"You wouldn't recognize me, so…don't worry over that part," she said with a heavy sigh and leaned back in the seat for a moment. She couldn't believe she finally got him more-or-less working, even if it wasn't perfect right now. "My name's Crystal Blake. Or, 'Chris', if that's easier. Whichever works." After easing the strain in her back from either sitting up or leaning forward working this long into the afternoon, she took a small flashlight from her back pocket and switched it on to look at a bulleted list on a clipboard sitting in the passenger seat. Then she grabbed a flat white monitor connected to a port under what used to be the glove box.

The screen glowed as she swiped her fingers across the surface, looking through the data coming from the processing unit and memory chip. Neither were functioning at full capacity, nor was anything else and some things weren't working at all. And from the looks of the energy reading, they wouldn't for a while yet. "Sorry, KITT," she said finally, disappointed in herself for being unable to do much more than this. "Looks like your systems won't be completely recharged for another several hours… No thanks to my crummy generators," she mumbled.

If it weren't for the little power he did have, he wouldn't have caught that first part. _"You...know who I am?"_ he asked.

Crystal looked up from the monitor to his voice modulator when he spoke again. The three vertical bars of light flashed with each word accordingly. "Oh. Well, yeah, kind of. You could say that." A look of concern glinted in her eyes after glancing at the monitor again. Out of everything currently running, the memory chip seemed to be at the lowest aptitude by far, and she couldn't help but wonder. "KITT, do me a favor please?"

 _"I suppose so…"_ Though, he couldn't possibly imagine what she could want.

"Can you tell me what your acronym, your name, K-I-T-T stands for?"

That caused his memory bank to stall. _"It…um…"_ He paused, attempting to come up with an answer through the haze of static. _"The… Kn…Knight… The Knight…In…Industries…."_ No matter how hard he tried, the memory just wouldn't clear enough for a complete thought. _"….um… Can you…repeat the question?"_ This was just awful… That should have been easy enough to answer, but he might as well have had the equivalent of a human concussion. It frustrated him more than he had the energy to express. _"My apologies, Crystal… My memory bank is a disaster. I can hardly recall much of anything."_

With a slow blink and a deep breath, she reached up and patted the roof of the dash in a gesture of comfort. "It's okay… We can try again in a few hours or so when you've had more time to charge." Reaching into the passenger seat again and grabbing her phone, she took a quick second to check the time. It was already almost 7pm. Golly... If there was anything that could tire her out more than realizing she's been working 20 hours straight, for two days in a row.

 _"Crystal…may I ask… What happened? And, where am I?"_

She rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand as she thought. "That's a really, _really_ long story, unfortunately…" Her forearm dropped to her lap as she stared at KITT's voice modulator. "What if I tell you about it after we've both had a little bit of rest? Then both of us will be able to process more."

He considered her proposal for a minute. As much as he wanted to know what was going on, where he was, how got here, and even why he felt so strange, she was right. If there was that much to explain, it would be better if they waited a little while. Long enough for her to get some rest and for his systems to fully come back online, or at least close to it. So, he agreed to wait.

* * *

After rearranging the tool bag Crystal had reached behind the passenger seat and pulled her backpack into her lap to stuff the tools inside, and after stepping out of the vehicle and closing the door she moved sluggishly around the garage. She had then turned on a tall space heater in the corner and without taking the backpack off her shoulders she had gone up the steps through a door that seemed to lead into another part of the building, only to return with a sleeping bag and a few pillows.

It had taken KITT several minutes to realize what she was doing, and when he asked why she was setting up a spot to sleep on the garage floor instead of inside, she simply responded, "I don't care if something gets stolen out of the house, but if someone so much as _tries_ to mess with my garage they're _dog meat_." Her words were little more than muffled grumbling as she continued to wind down, and she said nothing else before shuffling down into the sleeping bag and promptly fell asleep. So quickly, in fact, he wondered if she just passed out. Since he couldn't scan her vitals clearly enough at the time, he couldn't tell.

Roughly five hours have passed since then, and Crystal was still very much asleep after failing to respond to the alarm she set for herself. In the meantime his main systems had gathered enough power to operate more properly, and he could assess what all was missing from his functions and equipment. The differences from what his memory bank stated from before to now was staggering. It was far easier process what _hadn't_ disappeared or malfunctioned.

The alpha circuit, voice synthesizer, anamorphic and etymotic equalizers, olfactory sensor, the fuel processor, and… _most_ cruise modes. It seemed Super Pursuit Mode was gone along with the rocket boosters, emergency brake system, molecular bonded shell, and most everything else. Of course the vehicle's power system was online but it wasn't anything like it had been before, and he wasn't able to analyze the specifications for some reason. The microscanners also appeared to be modified, as well as the microwave jammer and microlock functions. Even the medical scanner's accuracy had been improved.

There was also a small light bar mounted into the dashboard several inches away from the voice modulator, which mimicked the shape and light flow of KITT's scanner. He couldn't tell what that was for, or several other additional features he didn't recognize. How bizarre…

Regardless, he decided not to worry over that for the moment. Surely Crystal would wake up soon and realize she slept longer than intended. Then again it was better she did, having evidently overworked herself as it is. At least now there was enough power available to run a full scan of the area.

KITT was surprised to find there were no other living creatures inside other than a small black cat on the second floor of the house, which also included the ground floor attached to the garage as well as a basement level. The property itself expanded over 7.9 acres and there were no signs indicating anyone other than Crystal has been living on the premises, which was peculiar. As for the garage, it was 21 feet wide by 35 feet long and each wall was solid concrete as well as the ceiling, and it had a pair of standard, windowless electric doors with steel reinforcements. According to statistics the _whole_ garage could easily house five vehicles total, but it was separated into two sections by a steel track wall divider and secured with high-grade power locks. This side of the garage could only hold two cars at best.

Come to think of it, there was another car in here other than himself. A custom, black 1987 Mercury Cougar on the opposite side of the room, closest to the divider. There was something strange about it that he couldn't quite place.

When he examined the car again, the scanners picked up a faint signal. It was vaguely familiar, and he searched through the memory bank for any trace of data he could find to compare it to.

As the last of the static in his systems continued to clear he found several references and immediately felt a pang of alarm, the light bar on the dashboard quickly flashing back and forth in unison with his scanner.

" _Oh no."_ That did it. He couldn't wait any longer. He needed answers _now._

For the first time since coming online tonight his voice was loud and clear as he called out to the girl sleeping on the floor nearby. _"Crystal? Crystal!"_ She groaned in protest, slowly beginning to stir but still half asleep as she shifted in the sleeping bag. _"Crystal, wake up!"_ For good measure he opened the pilot door and slammed it shut, thankful he could still do that much.

The sound jarred her awake and she abruptly sat up with a startled gasp, her heart pounding while she caught her breath. Then almost as soon as it came her anxious expression melted back into tiredness as she realized the garage was still secure. With a deep breath she rubbed her eyes. "What is it..?" she asked with a somewhat strained voice as she bit back a yawn. "Something wrong?"

 _"I would say there is,"_ he stated, keeping his tone level now that he had her attention. _"I believe we need to talk."_


	4. Explanation Where it's Due

It was getting well past 1 am by the time Crystal was about halfway through explaining herself, answering KITT's questions as he thought of them. She sat in a cloth folding chair she set up by the wall near his passenger door, holding a can of Mountain Dew in her hand with her elbows propped up on her knees. The caffeine and bright overhead lights in the garage ceiling had her almost completely awake after this long and by now she was just waiting to get back to work. There was a lot to do yet. But then she couldn't just put off the AI's questioning. Given the circumstances, he more than deserved whatever answers she could give him.

She stared at the top of the soda can as she rotated it and her wrist in a lazy circular motion. After explaining from beginning to end what she had done in technically stealing him and some of his parts from the Foundation, the means, and the current year, he fell quiet and hasn't said a thing for a while. Crystal had no idea what he was thinking and didn't want to press, so she just tried to be patient. It wasn't like she'd expect any different reaction, after all. So far she could tell he was confused, disoriented, and suspicious. God only knew what else.

Several minutes passed before he finally broke the silence. _"Twenty-thirty-seven?"_ he asked in bewilderment. _"It sounds like I was last activated_ forty-two years _ago, rather than last week…"_

With a half-hearted grin she offered a slight chuckle. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" The grin quickly vanished as she shifted her gaze from the soda can directly to the gray floor. "Time travel's weird. I don't even like it. Just turned out somewhat useful in this instance."

 _"Excuse me, but I do not consider_ stealing _me a useful purpose,"_ he said bluntly. _"In fact, not only is it theft- it might as well be considered kidnapping."_

"Look," Crystal sighed and sat back in the chair, her brows furrowed in a somber gaze. "It's not like I'm _proud_ of breaking multiple laws in both time periods, alright? I just didn't see what choice I had. If I just left the timeline as it was, you would have been completely stripped apart _twice_. The second time being the last." Taking a sip of her Mountain Dew, she added, "That's no life." Of course, that was said without mentioning _why_ he was being dismantled in the first place. At least, not just yet.

KITT paused at her statement, not quite sure how to take that information. According to his enhanced Voice Stress Analyzer- or as Crystal called it, the Audio Polygraph-, she hadn't lied thus far. But he wasn't sure whether that was more of a good, or bad thing. _"I beg your pardon? What in the world are you talking about?_ "

Running a free hand over her face, she thought for a moment as how to put this. Frankly, the full-on history lesson could wait until another time. As for the main issue…. She glanced at her backpack sitting against the wall next to her and thought of the files she kept on a digital USB drive in the back pocket as well as a thin folder of copied blueprints. Frankly, she preferred to avoid them. "The bottom line…is there was a terrorist attack that killed over two thousand people in a day and left the whole country's peace of mind in shambles. After that no one was so much as comfortable in their own shadows, and they pretty much posed an internal war against anyone and anything different than what they knew. Which…included Knight Industries and F.L.A.G. Everyone involved at the time or beforehand had a target painted on their backs."

 _"I find that very hard to believe. Knight Industries and the Foundation were meant to help people and work_ with _the government, not commit acts of_ terrorism," he argued.

"Well….the thing is…." _There's really no delicate way to put this, is there?_ she thought. "To keep powerful technology from falling into the wrong hands, they were ordered to destroy it and shut down operations indefinitely. Either that or be arrested themselves."

He was quiet for a moment. _"By 'powerful technology' I assume you mean me,"_ he said. Crystal only nodded with a short hum. _"I must say that logic sounds backwards. I am far more useful in one piece, and I most certainly would not allow myself to be used by criminals."_ Granted there had been a few instances when he had been caught in a sticky situation, but the idea of being seen as an outright fool or inanimate piece of hardware that would let himself be misused was utterly insulting.

"Unfortunately, no one saw it that way. And neither did Maddock when he was having you torn down and your parts sold or trashed."

 _"He_ what?" KITT's scanner lit up all the way across then flicked side to side, the inner light bar doing the same and picking up pace the more his distress amplified. This was no better than the panic earlier. _"Why would he do that? Why would Devon, or Bonnie, even Michael- why would they_ let _him do that?"_ He frantically searched through the memory bank, looking for any indication he might have missed something in passing conversation before being deactivated. Did they know and not tell him, or know at all?

The references he found and cross-examined, didn't work in their favor…

Crystal bit her lower lip, her expression dropping further with her mood. She already felt ridden with guilt; this only made it worse. "All I know is they were going to replace you with a supposedly more advanced AI and model," she said with a slow exhale. "Your driver didn't know about it; I can tell you that much. He would've tried to stop it if he did, despite his retirement." She leaned forward on her knees again, staring off into space. "I can't even _begin_ to imagine what was going through Devon's head. Bonnie….well, I don't know about her either." Again her mind drifted to the files in her backpack. She remembered reading a lot of things, but when it came to Bonnie within the last month or so prior to Russell Maddock's promotion to head of F.L.A.G. and then on, there was barely anything as if she had just slowly fallen off the radar. Crystal didn't even see her at the foundation for the week she had been there.

She could tell he was becoming more and more uneasy based on the light bar she could see through the passenger window, and the longer she watched the rapid motion her exhaustion level grew. "If it's…any consolation….they did try their best to hold on to you in the original timeline, even after receiving orders."

He took several minutes to let that run through his processor, but…he wasn't so sure. Even if Michael didn't know, he couldn't understand why Devon would have let this happen. Michael and Bonnie always said he was a friend and family, but now he couldn't be sure if Devon had ever felt or said the same regardless of what his memory bank said. Perhaps he thought more like Russell Maddock after all, since he apparently thought replacing him was an option. Saying the very implication was 'disheartening' barely scratched the surface.

As much as he doubted he wanted to hear the answer, he asked, _"So I take it…they eventually followed through with their orders?"_ It wasn't that he valued his well-being over theirs. But anxiety nagged at him to find out what happened.

At that Crystal adjusted her posture. Finally she could give him somewhat good news. "Actually, no. At least not completely. From what I read, you, your processing unit, memory chip, and alpha circuit were all separated out while the rest was taken apart to have authorities believe you _were_ destroyed. I would bet they were planning to go underground and have you rebuilt."

Well…despite the rest, that was good to know. Sort of. _"But why didn't they?"_

"See, that's the tricky part," she said, scratching the back of her head. "Some guy took off with your tech, and instead of rebuilding _you_ , he designed and created a copy that also went by 'KITT', but was commonly referred to as K-I- _3_ -T. But, being the pale copy he was, didn't last very long. For all his…" She added air quotes. "…'improvements,' he and his driver would have been far better off with your experience as opposed to starting out as an entirely new AI that day in age. He could barely even hold his own against KARR's crazy doppelganger, the Knight Auto-Cybernetic Roving Robotic Exoskeleton. K-A-C-R-R-E, or…. Heck, just 'KARR 2.0.' Nevermind all that other mouthful."

 _"Wait, you mean_ he _was copied too?"_ There was no mistaking the shock in his tone.

"Not by the wise men or the good guys, that's for sure. Frankly, I don't know how the NSA recovered what was left of his tech when I almost didn't find it myself," she mused.

Fully aware of the AI signal next to him, KITT couldn't stop from protesting. _"Crystal, the KARR I know is nothing short of dangerous and ruthless_. _You know that, don't you?_ " At least, he figured she might after everything else she seemed to know already.

Sitting back in the folding chair and crossing her legs, Crystal gazed at the Mercury in question without a single hint of worry in her eyes or voice. "Believe me, I'm well aware. Read his files a long time ago."

 _"Then why take the risk of bringing him here? And,_ how, _for that matter. He was destroyed when Michael and I last encountered him."_

"For one thing, he wasn't entirely demolished. His AI unit and memory box were both in fairly decent shape. Of course the rest of the basics I have to rebuild from scratch based on your tech. And second," she raised a brow and gestured toward the vehicle. "In case you can't tell, he's not exactly in working condition. Right now he's dormant, and practically as harmless as a caged lion. No pun intended."

 _"If I recall, there is a biblical story of a_ pit _of lions which a man was thrown into to be eaten alive."_ Without saying so, he implied this situation felt very similar.

A somewhat amused, brief snicker accompanied raised brows and an ever-so-slight smirk. "And _he_ wasn't. Only his enemies were," she clarified.

 _"I hardly find that reassuring… Chances are likely that the moment he reactivates he will attempt to kill us both."_ After all, KARR considered him an enemy from the very beginning for being a threat to his existence. Unlike KITT, whose dominant program was preservation of human life, KARR's was _self_ -preservation. Now, what was still technically 11 years later, he doubted that would have changed in the slightest.

"Not if I have anything to say about it, which I will since I don't plan on just _leaving_ him like that." Taking another drink from the soda can, she added, "Well, neither of you actually, if I can get a hold of vehicles that better match your previous forms."

The scanner swept to the right at the reminder, and there was a brief moment of silence as he ran another diagnostic just to be certain. _"Speaking of, what is_ this _vehicle supposed to be?"_ he asked, referring to his current self _. "It doesn't match anything in my data bank."_

Crystal shifted in the chair. "Well…." He sensed she was nervous as her voice rose an octave. "That's because the model is nineteen years after your time, but…. A silver 2014 Chevy Impala SS. Which is….kind of….my personal car?"

 _"Oh my goodness, you can't be serious…"_

Her brows furrowed, partly offended and also embarrassed due to his mortified tone. "H-hey, in my defense I don't have any other cars and I can't afford another one. This was the best I could think of to avoid just keeping you guys on a shelf and risk getting found or-!"

 _"Not_ that," KITT interrupted, causing her to give a highly confused expression. _"I mean the_ age. _I've run the calculations. 1982 to 1995, and bypassing the aging process with your time travel is only thirteen years; but in a virtual sense 1982 to 2014 is thirty-two years, 2014 from the current year is twenty-three years- which is generally considered_ very _old for an automobile in itself, or 1982 to 2037 is_ fifty-five _years! I sound positively_ ancient!"

She mentally paused at his mild hysterics, feeling more bemused than anything. Only the steady flow of the light on his dashboard showed he was half joking. "Oh.. Honestly I thought you would be…well, more mad about…" Using both hands, she used a large, circular motion to gesture above her head, to KITT's model, and KARR overall, implying the massive changes, bringing them to a new era in time, etc. "…all of this," she finished.

 _"I must say it is quite shocking,"_ he agreed, which lowered her spirits but only for a moment. _"However, I am far more concerned. For multiple reasons."_

"I know what you mean." Crystal propped her head up against her fist. "Like, even though we won't be directly affected aside from the obvious, we won't know what has been until we find out for ourselves."

 _"How long will that take?"_

Crystal shrugged. "Days, weeks, months…. Your guess is as good as mine. Now it just…all depends on the odds."

 _"I see."_

"Yeah," she said with little more than a mumble as she focused on the adjacent concrete wall. Outside she could hear the chirping of crickets much like those at the Foundation in 1995, and it was around the same early hours of the morning. She could only imagine what could be going on outside the sealed garage door. After leaving the past, the timeline would have already warped to make up for the changes concerning the AIs. What that would amount to Crystal couldn't be entirely sure, and the thought was unsettling to say the least.

Taking a slow deep breath, she only hoped the changes would go generally unnoticed. Then she cast a glance to KITT. "So…you're sure being installed in my car, even temporarily, doesn't bother you much?"

He briefly thought over her question, having to admit to himself that it was _very_ strange but not for the reason she imagined. Having such a bulky form just didn't feel right. Though, he supposed as long as it was temporary, and considering her best efforts to get his systems functioning on top of what she had done already, it wouldn't be too difficult to get used to. _"Before Michael Knight was my partner and driver as the Knight Industries Two Thousand, I was his_ _personal vehicle. If I were to be troubled by this that would only be, as they say, 'petty.' Which I might add, isn't my nature."_ Crystal visibly relaxed with the explanation, and she uncurled her fingers to run them through her bangs.

"Heh, honestly I didn't know that about your driver," she said. "That's pretty neat, actually."

 _"Oh, finally something you_ don't _know?" he asked teasingly._

She chuckled in response, the sound lightly echoing off the walls. "Hey, that's not fair! I never said I knew everything. There's a whole heck of a lot I don't know about you or your history. Files can only tell so much, you know."

Along with her statement, KITT noticed her eyes were vividly lit with a curiosity she struggled to keep to herself. Though he knew she must be tired it seemed to be the furthest thing from her mind, and according to the vital scan there was enough adrenaline in her system after their conversation to keep her awake for the next several hours. So, he had a thought. _"In that case…"_ he started. _"Do I still have a video function of any kind?"_

Tilting her head, she said, "Sure. It's the Virtual Reality Heads-up Display and should be able to work by now. Why?"

 _"Since we seem to have nothing but time on our hands and you won't be going back to sleep anytime soon, perhaps now I can show you a thing or two about the past,"_ he said. _"As long as I can access_ _my memory bank I can project my memories onto the monitor for you to watch for yourself. And you can feel free to ask any questions."_

She straightened up, her eyes a little wide and brows raised. "Really? You can… _would_ do that?" Her voice and expression were full of fascination, hardly able to believe what she was hearing.

With a subtle click he opened the passenger door. _"Certainly. It's only fair,"_ he added. _"After all, what better use for our time than making progress of our situation?"_ Of course, part of his reasoning was that the last thing he wanted was to sit in any more silence until morning, but he kept that part to himself.

A tired yet excited smile spread over Crystal's features and she laughed good-heartedly. "You got a point." In a fluid motion she stood up from the chair with her backpack in hand, took a short step then pivoted on her heal and flopped into the passenger seat, pulling her legs in as KITT closed the door. After a few minutes the inside of the windshield began to light up with a holographic screen.


End file.
